Men&#39;s undergarment



July 15, 1952 F. cHA'rFlELD 2,602,928

MEN's UNDERGARMENT Filed March 2G, 1948 2 SHEETS-SHEET l Y IN V EN TOR.fbi/VKL /N (MTF/fw BY ENE Ys July 15, 1952 F. CHATFIELD Filed March 26,1948 MEN'S UNDERGARMENT 2 sx-IEETs-sx-IEET 2 Patented July 15, 1952UNI'iED 'STATI-:1s Yorii=ics 'to Musigwear, 'Ino., Minneapolis; Mimi.,corporation-of Delaware Application March `26, 1948f -SeriaLNo'f .13,342

(Cl. )V

This .invention .relates .to .new and useful .1mprovements in mensundergarments, andmore particularly to garments ofthe general characterdisclosed in my Patent No. '2138;48'1', .gran-ted November .29, 1938,and my copending1- application, Ser. No. 1.7,34l,1ed-Mardh v2:6, 19.18;

.An important .feature of vthe present vinvention resides .in the novelconstruction oi" the body portion ofV .the garment whereby it serves toprovide an abdominal support and imparts arest'raining or compressing.action to the figure around they circumference thereof. riely', Vthefabric which constitutes the main or girdle por'- tion of the garmenthasY an elastic thread knitted` thereinto to ,provide the .requiredstretch or. elasticity for' Aadequately supporting the wearers body, thelower -portion Yof 'the garment being .constructedi of a relatively.looser fabric to provide freedom of movement without. binding.

AnA ol'ojectY of the .present .invention therefore is .to provide agarment .of the .character disclosed' lc :omprisin'g .a girdle 'typebody .portion adapted to snugly fit the .lower portion of the torso 'ina manner to exert a constricting, yet comforting. pressure .against thewearers' body', and at the same time providing' ar'nlpl .freedom of`movement of the wearers' body' without' danger ofthe garment? relativelyshifting its' position thereon. n

A further object is to' prox/iciol an undergar'- ment of' the characterdisclosed comprising a one-piece tubularY girdle portion adapted to ntthe wearers' body withf a' restraining and' compressing' action to'thereby provide a' conifortabiel support for that portion' of the 'bodycove'redi'by the' girdle portion; and' the lowerrnost' portion of' the"body of' `the' garmentl 'includingv the suspensory; lbeing. constructedof a' relatively' lo'o'ser knit fabric" to" minimize binding and pull-ling' in the' lower parool 'the garment 21S' 2 result' of body movements,and whereby the garment is` extremely comfortable) upon' 'the wearer.

A furtherv obje'ct is'to provide a' bodysupportf ing garmentvcomprising' an' lupper velastic` girdle" portion; 'and a lower'portion' preferably coin-- poseo of a; fabriowhibn may be relatively"looser' fitting on tho wearers` body; said upper' and lower' garmentportions being'kr'iitted ih'dep'e'nl dentA of .one another .after whichthey' are se'- cured` together to. provide a composite bodysupporting.garment adaptedA tov engage thev lower portion ofk the abdomen andimpart a comfortableuplift thereto, the constructionl oithe-garmentbeing s'uchthat: it' may' be expeditiously:

. 2` manufactured uantityproouotionot owcost A2 ilfrtner and morespecinc object' Ao thei-j ventio 'is' 'toprovide abo'dysopporting'garment for' nien designed' 'to' impart a gentle'comlress'j-K7 ing action to 'tneziowerportion of the wooferstOrsQ; suon.as 'the 'Hips' 'andstomaon to) thereby' enh'ar'icoL trio appearanoe of'.tiio- .ngurez other objects ofy toerinventiorr reiste to the' uniqueconstruction' or' 'the upper girde porti-on of the` garmentwhichpreferablyfifsiknit' 'oriapieco in the`V forni yof o.' toouiarrwbiank toavoid objectionable 'seams and 'the like; and' e' formation of' the"'lo-wer' pt :rti'ont fof the garment whereby "itmay provfoe'ig portionsor' moron# leg Openings', Where'isid 4lov/o1" g'aht L'Ifitio is securedto the upper girdle portion of the "aire ment", 'the lower portion of hegardien' prisin'g ac'rotch pie'ee1 exte ing-forwardiyff-roin toV theexact? features various? changes maybe roadefwitliinthescope'for-tneolaimswniohl follow'.

In the drawings:

Figure 'I' is au fronti view' of- 'the garment showpositioned uponC aiwearers'fbody;

, gu showin-'grt onst'ructionof the crotch portion:-

Figure 411s' :'r/.r'ear1 view of the .gar-ment;A Figura T5? iisra'- viewyshowing they tubular 'blank which forms the 'upper' girdle vport-ion ofthej garment? and .Figure -6 is a view: showing the lower portionoftheg'arment partially completed and con-- dition to--befsecuredffto the;upper girdle `,portion .tofy

completef'theformationof the garment'.v

Thev novel v'garmentherein d-isclosed is l 'showinr comprising: anupperenlarged girdle por-tion` v2L andl av lower buttocks-covering portion 3;The fabric constituting the girdle portion'.v .has-onef or moret elasticthreads' knittedthereinv to pro-- 3 vide a fabric having ampleelasticity to adequately support the wearers body with a compressingaction, and particularly the lower portion of the abdomen.

The elastic girdle portion 2 is shown formed from a tubular knit fabricto eliminate seams, and when the length of the girdle has beensubstantially completed,r as shown in Figure 5, the lower garmentportion 3 is secured thereto by stitching, as indicated at 4 in thedrawings.

The fabric constituting the lower portion 3 of the garment is ratherloosely knit so as to render said lower garment portion relativelylooser f1tting upon the wearers body, and whereby it is not likely topull or bind as a result of body movements. Y

The lower rear central edge portion of the fabric constituting the rearwall of the lower portion 3 of the garment has the rear end of a crotchpiece, generally designated by the numeral 5, secured thereto by a rowof stitches E. The crotch piece may be constructed of a fabric similarto the fabric from which the lower portion of the garment isconstructed, as indicated in the drawings. From the rear portion of thegarment, the crotch piece 5 extends forwardly and upwardly and has itsfront endportion 'I overlying the lowermost portion of the front wall ofthe garment body. as clearly illustrated in Figure 3. To provide asuitable fly opening, the side edges 8 of -f the upper or front portionof the crotch piece are secured to the front of the garment from thelower edge 9 of the front wall of the garment to theupper edge II of thecrotch piece by suitable seams I0. Y

An important feature of the present invention resides in the location ofthe upper edge II of the fly opening I4, subsequently to be described.By reference to Figures 2 and 3, it will be noted that the edge I I isdisposed in quite close proximity to the lower edge 9 of the garmentbody, whereby the elastic fabric constituting the front wall of thegarment body may compress the lower portion of the stomach withsufficient uplift pressure to adequately support the stomach, as will beunderstood by reference to Figures l and 2.

The upper edge II of the crotch piece is unsecured to the body of thegarment, and, in like manner, the lower central edge portion I2 of thelower front portion of the garment is unsecured to the crotch piecewhereby a horizontal fly openingl I4 is formed in the lower frontportionof the garment which is similar to the one shown and described in myPatent No. 2,138,481, granted November 29, 1988.

The garment herein disclosedhas been found extremely practicalin actualuse. The enlarged girdle portion 2 provides a comfortable support for`the entire abdomen, as clearly illustrated in Figure 2, and at the sametim-e it provides a restraining pressure against the hips and upperportion of the buttocks, whereby the entire body below the waistline isgiven wide support.

By knitting a suitable rubber or elastic thread into the girdle portion2 of the garment, the entire girdle portion may be rendered highlyelastic, whereas the lower portion 3 of the garment may fit the wearersbody with very little restraining pressure to thereby prevent thegarment from pulling or binding, or exerting uncomfortable constrictingpressures on the wearers body, when the .wearer of the garment isactively engaged in sports or other activities re- 4 quiring frequentand perhaps extreme body movements.

In the drawings, the fly opening I4 is shown formed by securing thefront upper portion of the crotch piece to the body of the garment alongits sides only.

By knitting the girdle portion 2 in the form of a seamless tubularblank, and constructing thc lower portion 3 as shown and described, theconstruction of the garment, as a whole, is greatly simplified wherebyit readily lends itself for manufacture in quantity production withoutwaste and at extremely low cost.

t will be apparent to those skilled in the art that I have accomplishedat least the principal l. In a single-layer garment of the classdescribed comprising a girdle portion and a lower portion, the girdleportion composed of tubular knit fabric having one or more rubberthreads knitted into the fabric to render said girdle por-` tionstretchable in a horizontal direction, the lower portion of the garmentbeing constructed of a relatively looser knit non-elastic fabric, acrotch piece extending forwardly from the rear of the seat portion ofthe garment and upwardly, and having its front portion secured to thelower front portion of the girdle portion and cooperating therewith toprovide a suitable fly opening, and the lower portion of the garmentloosely fitting the wearers body to permit free body movementsA withoutpulling or binding in the garment.

2. In a single-layer garment of the class described comprising a girdleportion and a, lower portion, the girdle portion composed of tubularknit fabric having one or more rubber threads knitted into the fabric torender said girdle portion stretchable, the lower portion of the gar`ment being constructed of a relatively looser nonelastic knit fabric, acrotch piece secured at the rear of the seat portion of the lowergarment portion and extending forwardly therefromand upwardly and havingits front portion overlying the lower front wall of the. girdle portionof the garment and secured thereto along its upright edges only, theupper edge of the crotch piece being unsecured and the lower edge of thefront wall of the body of the garment between the vertical side edgesofthe crotch piece being unsecured thereby to provide a horizontal fiyopening, and the lower portion of the garment loosely fitting thewearers body to permit free body movements without pulling or binding inthe garment.

3. A single layer tubular undergarrnent of the class describedcomprising a girdle portion and a lower portion, said girdle portionextending downwardly over the wearers abdomen and overlying a portion ofthe buttocks in back and forming a circumferential termination disposedin a` slightly forwardly and downwardly inclined plane, said girdleportion being composed of tubular knit fabric having one or more elasticthreads knitted into the fabric to render said knit f abrio, said lowerportion being tubular in nature and attached throughout its top to thegirdle portion of the garment and secured thereto 10 along its uprightedges only, the upper edge of the crotch being unsecured and the loweredge of the front wall of the body of the garment between the verticalside edges of the crotch piece being unsecured -the overlying uprightedge portions of said crotch piece being secured to the lower portion ofthe garment body, thereby to provide a horizontal fly opening, and saidgirdle portion and said lower portion substantially engaging the wearersbody.

FRANKLIN CHATFIELD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,102,323 Kneibler Dec. 14, 19372,138,481 Chatfeld Nov. 29, 1938 2,232,246 Klein Feb. 18, 1941 2,249,198Carter July 15, 1941 2,336,222 Clark Dec. 7, 1943

